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This book humanizes Wal-Mart...Straight Up Truth Reviews - It Is What It Is

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Sam Walton: Made In America Mass Market Paperback – June 1, 1993

by Sam Walton (Author), John Huey (Contributor)

4.7 7,132 ratings

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Meet a genuine American folk hero cut from the homespun cloth of America's heartland: Sam Walton, who parlayed a single dime store in a hardscrabble cotton town into Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world. The undisputed merchant king of the late twentieth century, Sam never lost the common touch. Here, finally, inimitable words. Genuinely modest, but always sure if his ambitions and achievements. Sam shares his thinking in a candid, straight-from-the-shoulder style.

In a story rich with anecdotes and the "rules of the road" of both Main Street and Wall Street, Sam Walton chronicles the inspiration, heart, and optimism that propelled him to lasso the American Dream.

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Bantam
Publication date

June 1, 1993
Dimensions

7.76 x 5.08 x 0.44 inches
ISBN-10

9780553562835
ISBN-13

978-0553562835
See all details

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[A] wise and inspiring autobiography--Walton tells his quietly fantastic story with conviction and makes no bones about his mistakes."
-- San Francisco Chronicle

"It's a story about entrepreneurship, and risk, and hard work, and knowing where you want to go and being willing to do what it takes to get there. And it's a story about believing in your idea even when maybe some other folks don't, and about sticking to your guns."
-- Sam Walton

"Here is an extraordinary success story about a man whose empire was built not with smoke and mirrors, but with good old-fashioned elbow grease."
-- Detroit Free Press

"A sure-fire all-American success story."
-- The New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

"Wise and inspiring autobiography... Walton tells his quietly fantastic story with conviction and makes no bones about his mistakes." -- San Francisco Chronicle. It's a story about entrepreneur, and risk, and hard work, and knowing where you want to go and being willing to do what it takes to get there. And it's a story about believing in your idea even when maybe some other folks don't, and about sticking to your guns. Sam Walton. Meet a genuine American folk hero cut from the homespun cloth of America's heartland: Sam Walton, who turned a single dime store in a hardscrabble cotton town into Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world. The undisputed merchant king of the late twentieth century, Sam never lost the common touch. Here, finally, Sam Walton tells his extraordinary story in his won inimitable words. Genuinely modest, but always sure of his ambitious and achievements, Sam shares his thinking in a candid, straight-from-the-shoulder style. In a story rich with anecdotes and the "rules of the road" of both Main Street and Wall Street, Sam Walton chronicles the inspiration, heart, and optimism that propelled him to lasso the American Dream. "Here is an extraordinary success story about a man whose empire was built not with smoke and mirrors, but with good old-fashioned elbow grease." -- Detroit Free Press.

From the Inside Flap

ne American folk hero cut from the homespun cloth of America's heartland: Sam Walton, who parlayed a single dime store in a hardscrabble cotton town into Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world. The undisputed merchant king of the late twentieth century, Sam never lost the common touch. Here, finally, inimitable words. Genuinely modest, but always sure if his ambitions and achievements. Sam shares his thinking in a candid, straight-from-the-shoulder style.

In a story rich with anecdotes and the "rules of the road" of both Main Street and Wall Street, Sam Walton chronicles the inspiration, heart, and optimism that propelled him to lasso the American Dream.

From the Back Cover

Meet a genuine American folk hero cut from the homespun cloth of America's heartland: Sam Walton, who parlayed a single dime store in a hardscrabble cotton town into Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world. The undisputed merchant king of the late twentieth century, Sam never lost the common touch. Here, finally, inimitable words. Genuinely modest, but always sure if his ambitions and achievements. Sam shares his thinking in a candid, straight-from-the-shoulder style.
In a story rich with anecdotes and the "rules of the road" of both Main Street and Wall Street, Sam Walton chronicles the inspiration, heart, and optimism that propelled him to lasso the American Dream.

About the Author

Sam Walton was an American businessman and entrepreneur, best known for founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club.

John Huey served as editor-in-chief of Time Inc until 2012. The former editor of The Wall Street Journal/Europe and founding editor of Southpoint magazine, he has long reported on the business world and has profiled many of its leading personalities.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1

LEARNING TO VALUE A DOLLAR

I was awake one night and turned on my radio, and I heard them announce that Sam Walton was the richest man in America. And I thought, ‘Sam Walton. Why, he was in my class.’ And I got so excited.”

—HELEN WILLIAMS,
former history and speech teacher at Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri

Success has always had its price, I guess, and I learned that lesson the hard way in October of 1985 when Forbes magazine named me the so-called “richest man in America.” Well, it wasn’t too hard to imagine all those newspaper and TV folks up in New York saying “Who?” and “He lives where?” The next thing we knew, reporters and photographers started flocking down here to Bentonville, I guess to take pictures of me diving into some swimming pool full of money they imagined I had, or to watch me light big fat cigars with $100 bills while the hootchy-kootchy girls danced by the lake.

I really don’t know what they thought, but I wasn’t about to cooperate with them. So they found out all these exciting things about me, like: I drove an old pickup truck with cages in the back for my bird dogs, or I wore a Wal-Mart ball cap, or I got my hair cut at the barbershop just off the town square—somebody with a telephoto lens even snuck up and took a picture of me in the barber chair, and it was in newspapers all over the country. Then folks we’d never heard of started calling us and writing us from all over the world and coming here to ask us for money. Many of them represented worthy causes, I’m sure, but we also heard from just about every harebrained, cockamamy schemer in the world. I remember one letter from a woman who just came right out and said, “I’ve never been able to afford the $100,000 house I’ve always wanted. Will you give me the money?” They still do it to this day, write or call asking for a new car, or money to go on a vacation, or to get some dental work—whatever comes into their minds.

Now, I’m a friendly fellow by nature—I always speak to folks in the street and such—and my wife Helen is as genial and outgoing as she can be, involved in all sorts of community activities, and we’ve always lived very much out in the open. But we really thought there for a while that this “richest” thing was going to ruin our whole lifestyle. We’ve always tried to do our share, “but all of a sudden everybody expected us to pay their way too. And nosy people from the media would call our house at all hours and get downright rude when we’d tell them no, you can’t bring a TV crew out to the house, or no, we don’t want your magazine to spend a week photographing the lives of the Waltons, or no, I don’t have time to share my life story with you. It made me mad, anyway, that all they wanted to talk about was my family’s personal finances. They weren’t even interested in Wal-Mart, which was probably one of the best business stories going on anywhere in the world at the time, but it never even occurred to them to ask about the company. The impression I got is that most media folks—and some Wall Street types too—either thought we were just a bunch of bumpkins selling socks off the back of a truck, or that we were some kind of fast buck artists or stock scammers. And when they did write about the company they either got it wrong or just made fun of us.

So the Walton family almost instinctively put a pretty tight lid on personal publicity for any of us, although we kept living out in the open and going around visiting folks in the stores all the time. Fortunately, here in Bentonville, our friends and neighbors protected us from a lot of these scavengers. But I did get ambushed by the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” guy at a tennis tournament I was playing in, and Helen talked to one of the women’s magazines for an article. The media usually portrayed me as a really cheap, eccentric recluse, sort of a hillbilly who more or less slept with his dogs in spite of having billions of dollars stashed away in a cave. Then when the stock market crashed in 1987, and Wal-Mart stock dropped along with everything else in the market, everybody wrote that I’d lost a half billion dollars. When they asked me about it I said, “It’s only paper,” and they had a good time with that.

But now I’d like to explain some of my attitudes about money—up to a point. After that, our finances—like those of any other normal-thinking American family—are nobody’s business but our own. No question about it, a lot of my attitude toward money stems from growing up during a pretty hardscrabble time in our country’s history: the Great Depression. And this heartland area we come from out here—Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas—was hard hit during that Dust Bowl era. I was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, in 1918 and lived there until I was about five, but my earliest memories are of Springfield, Missouri, where I started school, and later of the little Missouri town of Marshall. After that, we lived in Shelbina, Missouri, where I started high school, and still later Columbia, where I finished high school and went on to college.

My dad, Thomas Gibson Walton, was an awfully hard worker who got up early, put in long hours, and was honest. Completely, totally honest, remembered by most people for his integrity. He was also a bit of a character, who loved to trade, loved to make a deal for just about anything: horses, mules, cattle, houses, farms, cars. Anything. Once he traded our farm in Kingfisher for another one, near Omega, Oklahoma. Another time, he traded his wristwatch for a hog, so we’d have meat on the table. And he was the best negotiator I ever ran into. My dad had that unusual instinct to know how far he could go with someone—and did it in a way that he and the guy always parted friends—but he would embarrass me with some of the offers he would make, they were so low. That’s one reason I’m probably not the best negotiator in the world; I lack the ability to squeeze that last dollar. Fortunately, my brother Bud, who has been my partner from early on, inherited my dad’s ability to negotiate.

Dad never had the kind of ambition or confidence to build much of a business on his own, and he didn’t believe in taking on debt. When I was growing up, he had all sorts of jobs. He was a banker and a farmer and a farm-loan appraiser, and an agent for both insurance and real estate. For a few months, early in the Depression, he was out of work altogether, and eventually he went to work for his brother’s Walton Mortgage Co., which was an agent for Metropolitan Life Insurance. Dad became the guy who had to service Metropolitan’s old farm loans, most of which were in default. In twenty-nine and thirty and thirty-one, he had to repossess hundreds of farms from wonderful people whose families had owned the land forever. I traveled with him some, and it was tragic, and really hard on Dad too—but he tried to do it in a way that left those farmers with as much of their self-respect as he could. All of this must have made an impression on me as a kid, although I don’t ever remember saying anything to myself like “I’ll never be poor.”

We never thought of ourselves as poor, although we certainly didn’t have much of what you’d call disposable income lying around, and we did what we could to raise a dollar here and there. For example, my mother, Nan Walton, got the idea during the Depression to start a little milk business. I’d get up early in the morning and milk the cows, Mother would prepare and bottle the milk, and I’d deliver it after football practice in the afternoons. We had ten or twelve customers, who paid ten cents a gallon. Best of all, Mother would skim the cream and make ice cream, and it’s a wonder I wasn’t known as Fat Sam Walton in those days from all the ice cream I ate.

I also started selling magazine subscriptions, probably as young as seven or eight years old, and I had paper routes from the seventh grade all the way through college. I raised and sold rabbits and pigeons too, nothing really unusual for country boys of that era.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0553562835
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bantam; Reissue edition (June 1, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780553562835
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0553562835
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.76 x 5.08 x 0.44 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #8,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8 in Company Business Profiles (Books)
- #35 in Biographies of Business & Industrial Professionals
- #169 in Leadership & Motivation

Customer Reviews:
4.7 7,132 ratings

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Samuel Moore "Sam" Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American businessman and entrepreneur best known for founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Unknown [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
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Natalia Camargo

Loved this Book

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2024

Verified Purchase

"Sam Walton Made in America" is an exceptional exploration into the life and legacy of the visionary entrepreneur, Sam Walton, who founded Walmart. The author's storytelling is captivating, offering readers a personal and insightful journey into Walton's remarkable journey of building and expanding one of the world's largest retail giants.

The narrative skillfully unveils the intricacies of Walmart's culture, ideals, and foundational principles. Through the pages, readers gain a profound understanding of Sam Walton's innovative approach to business, which played a pivotal role in shaping Walmart into the global powerhouse it is today.

What sets this book apart is its ability to make the reader feel a genuine connection with Sam Walton. The narrative delves into his character, providing a deep insight into his leadership style and the ethos that drove him. The admiration for Walton and his unparalleled achievements is palpable throughout the book.

One of the notable strengths of "Sam Walton Made in America" lies in its wealth of leadership examples and entrepreneurial insights. Readers are not only treated to the story of Walmart's rise but also given practical tips and lessons on thriving as an entrepreneur. The book serves as a valuable resource for those seeking inspiration and guidance in the business world.

In conclusion, I highly recommend "Sam Walton Made in America" to anyone interested in business, leadership, and the journey of a true visionary. It's a compelling read that not only educates but also instills a deep respect for the man behind the Walmart empire. This book is a testament to the enduring impact of Sam Walton's legacy and is sure to leave a lasting impression on its readers.

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Abba

Important business book, maybe as important as Henry Fords!

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023

Verified Purchase

The reason for Americas leadership in business is because of men like Sam Walton, people who dare to try, give their dreams all they got in the land of opportunity. He reminded me of Henry Ford. I totally recommend the book, I loved it, loved the style of how he narrates his life with quotes form so many friends, coworkers, and family. An optimistic entrepreneur who gives us all hope that we can get what we want when chase our dreams with we have, work hard, never be shy to ask, learn from everyone even our competition, adopt what they are doing right, admit when we make a mistake, learn the lesson and move on, and finally ego is not part of success, it is the enemy.

One person found this helpful

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Alan Williamson

Great insight into Walmart

Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2013

Verified Purchase

I’ve recently finished a fascinating book on the history of Walmart, as told by its founder, Sam Walton. Written in the last year before he died in 1992. At that time Walmart was a $53billion turnover company, and for some context, if you had bought $100 shares at its initial IPO in the early 1970’s, they would be worth $3.8million today (the shares split so many times over the years).
This is a very easy read with no effort required, but offers a great insight into how he managed the growth of such a large corporate.

He had some wonderful ideas and asked a lot from his managers – namely keeping the customer in mind at all times. He wanted everyone (and I mean everyone) to be on the shop floor at least once a week and engaging with a shopper.
There are lots of “ah ha” moments in the book (history of Sams club), why Walmart has greeters (very surprising reason), and how he is proud to say he has the biggest fleet of millionaire trucker drivers in the country (everyone has stocks in Walmart).
Also beautiful tales of how he stole ideas from all the other retailers including Kroger, Target and JCPenny.

He held all his management meetings on a Saturday morning as he didn’t believe real retailers worked 9-to-5. He also wasn’t a believer in having the company pay for things – so when the corporate headquarters got a new gym and sports centre, he said that the $3M should come out of his pocket and not out of the shoppers pocket. To this day (1992), he is proud that their offices in Bentoville will never win any design awards.

This book was on the short list for Jeff Bezos as he was inspired by Sam’s attention to the customer that he “stole” that idea for Amazon.

7 people found this helpful

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Chris

Terrific book especially if you are a retailer

Reviewed in Canada on September 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

I was watching aTed Talk and the speaker mentioned this book as a must read if you are in retail or interested in it. Thoroughly enjoyed the story of Sam Walton and how he created his empire. Also gave me a new respect for him.

Quiron80

Terrific story !

Reviewed in Mexico on July 18, 2021

Verified Purchase

Amazing book. It's easy yo read and inspiring. I think, the very best story of businessman I've ever read. Sam shares a new perspective of enterprenurship and free enterprise and how with attitude you can achive important goals.

Christoffer Svahnström

Sam can sell

Reviewed in Sweden on August 4, 2022

Verified Purchase

Great book with interesting stories from Sam Walton of how Walmart became the behemoth it is today.

João Elias Gonçalves

Great biography

Reviewed in Brazil on August 13, 2019

Verified Purchase

Uma obra inspiradora. Mostra o valor do trabalho duro, da organização familiar, a importância dos detalhes.
Coloca os "best seller" sobre ADM e empreendedorismo no bolso!!
Parabéns ao Sam e sua família pela história de trabalho e grandes conquistas, e por manter a humildade e simplicidade como base em sua vida.
É uma leitura daquelas que vale a pena!

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Fil

Nessuno dovrebbe aprire un negozio di retail senza aver letto prima questo libro.

Reviewed in Italy on November 14, 2019

Verified Purchase

Sam Walton è il fondatore di #Walmart, la più grande catena al mondo GDO.

Il libro è la biografia di Sam e di come sia partito da un piccolo negozio in periferia e si sia espanso in tutti gli Stati Uniti.

I concetti più importanti che ho appreso sono:

"Il cliente è il nostro capo", questa è la filosofia di Sam.
Senza i clienti non c'è business e senza business si chiude licenziando tutti i dipendenti.

Anche nelle medie piccole città si può fare business ( dai 30/ 40 mila abitanti in su).
Questo punto lo hanno capito bene i negozi cinesi che stanno aprendo "everything store" in luoghi e periferie che nemmeno ci immaginavamo.

Non farsi mai convincere dagli altri che le tue idee sono sbagliate, solo i dati possono confermare o negare ciò che hai in mente.

Rendi partecipe dei tuoi guadagni i tuoi associati. Per spronare i tuoi dipendenti/ associati a fare meglio e dare il massimo è necessario renderli partecipi con azioni.

Impara a copiare dagli altri. Sam è sempre stato un abile osservatore e appena poteva andava in giro nei negozi dei competitor per capire come funzionavano e cosa avevano di nuovo.

Potrei andare avanti con almeno altri 10 punti ma preferisco farmeli dire da voi :) .

Leggere questo libro dopo aver letto la biografia di Jeff Bezos mi ha fatto capire quanto si stata importante l'influenza di Sam nei confronti del fondatore di Amazon.

Libro che consiglio vivamente alle persone che hanno un negozi o che vogliono aprirlo.

7 people found this helpful

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